Famous Bread Pudding + Brandy Sauce

French bread is a staple of New Orleans cuisine. The city has long been known for its po’ boy sandwiches served on local bread modeled on baguettes. After the sandwiches were stuffed with ham, roast beef, debris, sausage, shrimp — or even fried potatoes — some bread would invariably be left over. It went stale and turned hard within a day or so. Inventive cooks soaked it in sugary custard and baked pans of it for dessert rather than let it go to waste. To moisten it, a butter sauce infused with liquor became the local tradition. The alcohol content is flambéed or cooked out, leaving only the essence of its flavor behind to enjoy.

Mother’s Bread Pudding and Brandy Sauce are made from locally sourced Leidenheimer New Orleans French bread soaked in a custard of milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices. It is imbued with fruit cocktail (no raisins) and accompanied by a rich, luscious brandy butter sauce.

If you know New Orleans, you know Mother’s! Mother’s is a must-visit for anyone who wants a true taste of the Big Easy. Simon and Mary (Mother) Landry opened it as a humble po’boy shop in 1938, and in 1986 their sons Jacques and Eddie sold the business to current owners Jerry and John Amato, who expanded the menu but changed little else. Today, Mother’s remains a regular haunt for locals and tourists alike, who line up to order now-iconic dishes like roast beef “debris” (pronounced DAY-bree), the “World’s Best” baked ham, and decadent bread pudding laced with brandy butter sauce. Mother’s is undeniably one of the most iconic restaurants in all of New Orleans!